Hanukkah
by IFeltHope44
Summary: Alice has plans for the holidays, but not exactly what you'd expect. Alice/Jasper fluff.


A/N: Just some random little Jasper/Alice fluff that I threw together.

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Twilight, including characters and setting.

_Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of Hanukkah._

A tiny, pixie-like vampire scurried around on fleeting feet, stopping every now and then to pick up bits of tinsel or a snapped pine needle that Emmett had unknowing dragged captive into the house.

The crisp scent of fresh pine and cinnamon danced harmoniously about the rooms. Feathered garlands and ornate glass orbs dangled from every unoccupied place and a towering evergreen tree stood unconcerned in the middle of the great room of the Cullen house. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of twinkling lights lounged between the deep jade boughs, peppering the white-washed walls with their continuous sparks.

Outside, yet another unknown amount of lights littered every crevice visible to the naked eye. The usually moist, foliage-rich forest was striped of leaves, and an undisturbed quilt of snow was tucked around frozen tree stumps. Light dustings of the harmless powder flitted lazily from the branches that reached toward the ice blue sky every time the wind upset the carefully balanced snowdrifts.

It was December twelfth, a mere thirteen days away from every child's dream holiday. That is, almost every child. Renesmee, though only past a few years old, had quickly outgrown the juvenile traditions of Santa Claus and flying reindeer. She had taken to snowball wars against Emmett and Jasper, baking mocha chocolate cookies and bizcochitos with Esme, and Christmas shopping with Jacob.

Alice was busying herself with adding another delicate decoration here, one more glass bauble there. As the burning fireball in the sky began to sink lower into the Pacific Ocean, dousing the silent, salt-sprinkled streets in a fount of orange, gold, and magenta, Alice slowed and cocooned herself in a plum blanket. Despite it being unnecessary to an immortal, the softness and slight warmth was welcomed.

She shuffled at an abnormally lazy pace, even for a human, to the west side of the house where, through towering glass windows, she could see the last fingers of daylight waving behind the barren treetops. Alice reached for a dusty box stored deep within one of the cabinets, unearthing a branched, silver candelabrum, polished to perfection.

"Alice, honey…what the heck are you doing?" a deep, silken voice came from the other side of the room. Alice's mate was leaning against the open doorframe, his lean body casual and at ease.

"Jasper!" Alice cried. "How long have you been watching me?" she accused.

"Long enough to make me curious," he answered cryptically as Alice rolled two slender white candles between her equally pale fingers, placing one in the middle and the other at the far left of the fixture. "What on earth are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she fired back.

"It looks like…" he stared at her hands, loosely wrapped around the base of the candelabrum. "It looks like you're lighting a menorah for Hanukkah." A disbelieving grin crept across his face as he realized that she was doing exactly that.

"Yes. And?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed. Trying to fake emotions is not the brightest idea when married to an empath.

"And since when do you celebrate Hanukkah?" Jasper was having a difficult time trying to maintain a serious expression.

"Hanukkah is an understated holiday. It is just as important, if not more, as Christmas. And I'm going to celebrate it today."

"Okay," he agreed simply. "Do you know the prayer that goes with it?"

She stared at him, ashen face blank, and she blinked a few times.

"Not even bothering with the blessing," he muttered.

"The lights are pretty," she argued, as if being pretty made up for the lack of prayer. In her world, it probably did.

Jasper rolled his ocher eyes, switched off the lights with the flick of his wrist, and joined his wife. "Go on; light them," he instructed.

Alice fished around in the pocket of her dark-washed jeans, eventually pulling out an electric-green butane lighter. With a steady hand, she lit the _Shamash, _the middle candle that rose above the rest. Using the middle candle, she touched the open flame to the flimsy wick of the lone wax stick, setting it aflame.

Jasper whispered a strand of words, in Hebrew, in Alice's ear, delicately wrapping his arms around her thin frame. "_Barukh Atta Adonay Eloheynu Melekh Ha-olam Asher Kiddeshanu be-mitsvotav Ve-tsivanu Lehadlik Ner Shel Khanuka_," he said, the words flowing with a rhythmic cadence from his pale lips.

"Happy Hanukkah, Jazzy," Alice said quietly, resting her head against the broad expanse of Jasper's chest.

He nodded, returning her sentiment with a kiss to the top of her head as they watched the first white candle, dressed with a tiny orange flame, burn for the first night of the Festival of Lights.

A/N: Just in case anyone was wondering, I am, in fact, Jewish, and I do celebrate Hanukkah.

This is so random, and I wrote this about a month ago. It's just another weird spark of inspiration.

Oh, and the pronunciation for the (for those who don't know Hebrew) is this:

Bar-ruke a-ta add-o-nay e-low-hay-new mel-ah ha-o-lom a-share key-shah-new Be-mits-vo-tav vetsi-vah-new le-hod-leek nair shell Hanukkah

Special thanks goes to Rebecca and Ashley, for giving me the pronunciation for the prayer. :)


End file.
